Breakdown of Mi prima escribió un poema sobre la soledad que se siente después de un concierto ruidoso.
Questions & Answers about Mi prima escribió un poema sobre la soledad que se siente después de un concierto ruidoso.
In Spanish, many family words change form depending on gender:
- prima = female cousin
- primo = male cousin
So mi prima means my (female) cousin. If the cousin were male, the sentence would be:
- Mi primo escribió un poema…
You choose prima or primo based on the cousin’s gender, not the speaker’s gender.
Escribió is the preterite tense of escribir (to write), third person singular (he/she/you formal).
- escribió = she wrote (completed action in the past)
- escribía = she was writing / she used to write (ongoing or habitual in the past)
- escribe = she writes (present)
In this sentence, escribió is used because it refers to a specific, completed action: my cousin wrote a poem (at some point in the past).
Even though poema ends in -a, it is grammatically masculine:
- el poema
- un poema
- este poema
This is because poema comes from Greek and belongs to a group of masculine nouns ending in -ma (like problema, tema, sistema, programa).
So you say un poema, not una poema.
In this context, sobre means about (as in the topic or subject of something):
- un poema sobre la soledad = a poem about loneliness
You can say un poema de la soledad, but it sounds different:
- un poema sobre la soledad = the poem’s topic is loneliness.
- un poema de la soledad can sound more like the poem belongs to or comes from loneliness, or is of loneliness in a poetic way.
For clear, everyday speech about topics (of books, movies, talks, etc.), sobre or acerca de is more natural:
- un libro sobre la historia de México
- una charla acerca de la soledad
Spanish often uses a definite article (el, la, los, las) before abstract nouns, where English usually doesn’t:
- la soledad = (the) loneliness
- la felicidad = (the) happiness
- el amor = (the) love
So un poema sobre la soledad is literally a poem about *the loneliness, but it corresponds to English *a poem about loneliness.
You could say sobre soledad; it’s not wrong, but sobre la soledad sounds more natural and complete in most contexts.
Here, que is a relative pronoun meaning that / which. It links la soledad to a clause that describes it:
- la soledad que se siente…
→ the loneliness *that is felt… / the loneliness **you feel…*
So the structure is:
- la soledad (the noun)
- que se siente después de un concierto ruidoso (a clause describing that loneliness)
Together: la soledad que se siente… = the loneliness that you feel…
Se siente here uses sentirse (reflexive) in an impersonal or general way:
- se siente ≈ is felt / you feel / one feels
In Spanish, this impersonal “se” is very common to talk about general experiences:
- En esa ciudad se vive bien.
→ Life is good in that city / You live well in that city. - Después de un concierto ruidoso se siente soledad.
→ After a loud concert, you feel loneliness / loneliness is felt.
If you removed se and said la soledad que siente, it would mean:
- la soledad que siente = the loneliness that *he/she feels* (specific person)
So se siente keeps it general, not tied to one person.
sentir (without se) usually takes a direct object: you feel something.
- Siento frío. = I feel cold.
- Siento miedo. = I feel fear / I’m afraid.
sentirse (with se) usually describes how you feel (a state or condition):
- Me siento triste. = I feel sad.
- Me siento cansado. = I feel tired.
In the sentence, se siente is reflexive and impersonal (‘one feels / is felt’), which is very natural in Spanish.
In Spanish, the normal position for descriptive adjectives is after the noun:
- un concierto ruidoso = a loud concert
- una casa grande = a big house
- un perro viejo = an old dog
You can sometimes put the adjective before the noun (un ruidoso concierto), but that often adds a more stylistic, emotional, or literary tone, or slightly changes the focus/meaning.
For standard, neutral description, use noun + adjective:
- un concierto ruidoso is the usual, natural order.
The expression is después de when followed by a noun:
- después de la película = after the movie
- después de la cena = after dinner
- después de un concierto = after a concert
So the pattern is:
- después de + [noun / pronoun]
Without de, después un concierto is incorrect in this context.
mi (no accent) is a possessive adjective = my:
- mi prima = my cousin
- mi casa = my house
mí (with accent) is a prepositional pronoun = me (after prepositions):
- para mí = for me
- de mí = of me / from me
In the sentence, mi comes before a noun (prima), so it’s the possessive mi (no accent).
Grammatically and lexically, the sentence:
- Mi prima escribió un poema sobre la soledad que se siente después de un concierto ruidoso.
is perfectly natural in both Latin America and Spain.
Possible minor differences might be in:
- Accent/pronunciation, not in spelling.
- Maybe word choice in other contexts (e.g., some people might say muy fuerte instead of ruidoso in casual speech).
But as written, this sentence is fully standard and widely understood across the Spanish-speaking world.